To want to tell others how crap this photographer is

[rainbowslollipops]

Went for a family shoot. Was told 3 days after booking that she wanted a £40 non refundable deposit. Yet the photo shoot was priced at £40 for the hour. On the day we were in her cramped living room with big lights just a meter close to us. Got the photos back on a disc 25 photos out of around 50 in total. She picked ones that needed editing to put on the disc. To say they were awful is an understatement. There were pasty faces, strawberry blonde hair when the kids have a mousy blonde colour hair and they were all ones that we didn't like. So I contacted her to see if we could arrange to meet up and have a look at all the photos. She said no at first. She said I either have the watermarked disc or pay £50 for the 25 photos on a non watermarked one. I said I wasn't happy to do.that since none of.us were happy with the result and that we wouldn't be using her again. She then came back and said we could see all the photos. We did so. And picked put 30 photos that we liked. She charged us 15p a print plus £3 delivery and said she does all her printing in a place in the city. When we got the photos back one that was asked to be in black and white was in colour, there was half of one of.the kids cut off, heads cut off and on.the back of each photo was snapfish.co.UK. My sister went on.that site and they charge 9p a print and £2 delivery. We ended up paying £50 in total and my sister had to take all the photos, scan them and re print them via Asda.

Would I be unreasonable to tell others about my ordeal? She also told my partner who works with her that I had complained to her, what I had said and that I.didn't know what I was on about and was just trying to.scam her.

[HollyBerryBush]

If she works with your partner, I am presuming you didn't pay for a professional photographer?

[ellajayne]

YANBU. She is not a professional and the shoot sounds awful. Not only has she completed work you're not happy with but has outright lied to you. I usually say no to naming and shaming on businesses but in circumstances like this you completely should.

[rainbowslollipops]

Holly sorry I.should have said in.the post. She claims she's self employed photographer on the side and has been.doing it years and is qualified. Yet she hasn't got any of her certificates to show and hasn't been to college or uni so I beg to differ.

[TheseFoolishThings]

Did you check any professional references before deciding to use her? I mean - what made you go with that particular photographer? She sounds beyond crap. Does she advertise anywhere? Website? There must be somewhere you can leave feedback - will you be doing that?

[chrome100]

It seems to me that nowadays anyone can buy a fancy camera and claim to be a "photographer"; many genuinely believe it. It's probably harder to find a decent photographer these days because of that.

[rainbowslollipops]

My sister picked her because we know her and she has a website but only uses her facebook page. The photos on her facebook page don't look that bad but obviously they're the ones she picks. If I leave feedback on.her facebook page I'm likely to get a flaming and on her site there's no feedback section. We didn't ask for certificates or anything

[Sallystyle]

£40 an hour

Any photographer who charges so little for their work is not going to be all that good. A good photographer has to charge more to cover their equipment and talent so anyone who charges so little I would run a mile from.

I am a photographer but not in business as I don't feel ready for that yet as I found charging people turned it from fun into a nightmare. There are heaps of shoot and burn photogs out there now.

[rainbowslollipops]

The £40 was for one hour. Days later she told us she needs £40 non refundable deposit to secure our booking we went to her, it wasn't a wedding or occasion it was a bog standard family shoot.

[SacreBlue]

I agree with Samu. It's not 'point and click' and for £40 an hour, well I guess I'd expect heads in shots but I wouldn't expect quality.

She is patently not a 'professional' so YANBU to give you opinion. However YABU to expect professional quality for a knock off price.

[SacreBlue]

Ah so £80 for the hour?

[rainbowslollipops]

Not having had one done before I wasn't sure if the price was right or not. Alarm bells started to ring when she asked for non refundable deposit. If we wouldn't be able to make it that's already £40 we'd lose. I spoke to a photographer of 4 years and in uni continuing it and she looked at the photos and was appalled. She said it makes other photographers look bad and that there shouldn't have been a big deposit for something so small.

[rainbowslollipops]

We thought £80 in total for the hour but nope. We basically paid for the shoot as a non refundable deposit.

[Sallystyle]

Did she give you a contract to sign? show you her portfolio/ blog?

Obviously she has no idea what she is doing and trying to earn a bit of money with no talent or business savvy behind her.

[rainbowslollipops]

She got my sister to sign a bit of paper to say that she was allowed to use it on.facebook. She was meant to put them on there last Wednesday. Nothing yet. But tbh I think with the stink I kicked up she isn't likely to.

[rainbowslollipops]

No portfolio or blog

[Sallystyle]

Plenty of amazing photogs don't have certificates but in general if there was no contract and they are charging so little run away.

I understand your disappointment but you do take some responsibility in expecting professional results for such little money.

I can't stand shoot and burn photographers who completely undermine real photographers who have worked darn hard and have talent, but you do get what you pay for and with it being easier now to buy a decent camera and get a photo editing software there are plenty of them around.

[rainbowslollipops]

We've definitely learnt our lesson. She claimed to say in.order to get a bigger size she had to cut some of the photo.

[Sallystyle]

Oh and if you are anywhere near Norwich I would do you some for free. I am not amazing, but I can at least give you better photos than this girl obviously did lol

[SacreBlue]

So £40 for the hour?

A non refundable deposit is actually not abnormal for freelance professionals to charge to avoid time wasters - if you hadn't have been able to make that's £40 she would lose if she had booked the time out to you.

If all you paid in total for the shoot was £40 and then I wouldn't have expected professional. Charging for printing them was a bit even so.

I think I go back to my previous comment, she is VU to be describing herself as a professional but at that price I really expect people to know that (even if they had to phone round other photographers in the area to find out)

[Cosmosim]

All professional means is that someone paid for you to do the task. Doesn't indicate at what quality you've done it.

[Maggie111]

£50 for the shoot and the prints that you wanted sounds reasonable to me. If you wanted amazing photographs then a bit more research and more money would achieve that.

For £50 I'd be happy to have 5 shots that I liked.

Yes she sounds awkward but you pay peanuts...

[rainbowslollipops]

But for £50 you'd expect to see bodies and faces in the pictures. And not to be lied to.

[5Foot5]

Would I be unreasonable to tell others about my ordeal?

YABU to describe it as an "ordeal". Makes it sound like you have been violently assaulted in the street or undergone invasive surgery without an anaesthetic.

YANBU to be annoyed at being ripped off in this manner. I guess it is just fortunate you didn't use her for something really important like a wedding or something.